Top Economists Explore the Problems and Promises of Globalization in New Council Book

Share

April 28, 2005 - From the streets of Seattle to corporate boardrooms to new factories in third-world nations, globalization is subject to very different and often explosively divergent interpretations. Where some see globalization as driving poor countries further into poverty, others see it as the path to economic salvation and democratic rule.

Edited by Michael Weinstein, former Council Senior Fellow and Maurice R. Greenberg Geoeconomics Center Director, and with original contributions from ten eminent economists, Globalization: Whats New? cuts through the confusion and rhetoric to offer straightforward, incisive analyses of globalization and its future.

Coming from some of globalizations most prominent supporters, its most vocal critics, and those in between, this collection presents diverse and original perspectives on globalizations immense reach that dig to the core of many debates. The contributors analyze recent trends in trade, immigration, and capital flows; why some poor countries have grown while others have stagnated during the past two decades; future opportunities for low-wage workers; globalizations impact on jobs and wages in poor countries and in the United States; the surprising environmental benefits of globalization; the degree to which foreign aid helps developing countries; the failures of international institutions in governing the global economy and supporting democracy; and how foreign loans and investments can wreak havoc on a nations economy.

Globalization has become an enduring subject, says Center for Global Development President Nancy Birdsall. Here is a superb collection of essays, with a sparkling introduction, bringing thoughtful and accessible economic analysis to what ought to be a wide readership. . . . In the end, whats good about globalization mostly gets the nod in this collection, along with full disclosure of how its economic blessings could be enhanced and better shared.

Weinstein is director of programs for the Robin Hood Foundation and the New York Times Foundation. He provided analysis of economic issues for National Public Radio before joining The New York Times as a member of its editorial board and its economics columnist during the 1990s.

Founded in 1921, the Council on Foreign Relations is an independent national membership organization and a nonpartisan center for scholars dedicated to producing and disseminating ideas so that members, students, interested citizens, and government officials in the United States and other countries can better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other governments.

Independent Task Force Reports

Rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries are increasing faster than in wealthier countries. The Independent Task Force outlines a plan for collective action on this growing epidemic.